The prevalence of computer networks is increasing. In fact, more and more computer users are installing networks at home. One of the primary advantages of a home computer network is the ability to share information and resources.
Unfortunately, prior-art computer-networking software does not allow users to automatically locate printers and shares (i.e. file folders that are accessible by a plurality of users) on the network. Instead, if a person is using a first computer and decides that he or she would like to utilize a resource (i.e., printer or share) on another computer, the person must know the exact computer path (e.g., \\servername\sharedfolder and then can optionally have \subdir\subdir\file) to the resource. Of course, this is cumbersome for experienced computer users. And, this problem is practically insurmountable for novice users.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide methods and systems for automatic discovery of printers and shares on a computer network.